Waiting for the Sun
by Tsu-chanB
Summary: It was supposed to be simple: go to Duelist Kingdom, win the prize money, bring it back home. Complications arise when Kira is reunited with the Kaibas. She isn't on good terms with them anymore, but she might be the only one able to save them. KaibaXOC
1. Chapter 1

Waiting for the Sun

A fanfic by Tsu_chanB

Disclaimer: I take no credit for making/owning YuGiOh or any related characters.

A/N: This fanfic was inspired by the songs "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin and "Give me Strength" by Over the Rhine.

Chapter 1

_**The Ancient Gods: **__The History and Diffusion of Religion in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean  
_VII: Cosmology  
_**The Heliopolitan Ogdoad  
**__In the celestial realms Atum, the Heliopolitan version of the sun god, became supreme and exercised his creative functions whilst his worship became predominant in the Old Kingdom under the powerful influence of Heliopolis. In the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2380 B.C), when the city became the capital and the centre of the solar cult, he was the head of the Ogdoad (the eight creation gods), and the Pharaoh assumed the title 'Son of Ra'. There in Heliopolis the 'House of the Obelisk' in the temple was alleged to stand on the Primeval Hill on which Atum first appeared. Consequently, it was regarded as the centre of the creative forces which Atum combined within himself when he became the progenitor of the Great Ogdoad – Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), Geb (earth) and Nut (sky), and Osiris, Isis, and Set, the offspring of Geb and Nut. As Atum-Ra a complex mythology developed around Atum in the Pyramid Ages. As the Supreme god he became the self-created Creator, the source of life as well as the father of the gods and the personification of the sun. He was the ruler of the world in all four directions of the horizon, and at the same time he exercised protective control in a special sense over Egypt, as the Pharaoh was his son and incarnate embodiment on earth._

A soft scrape of paper rubbing against paper sounded in the silence as the teenaged girl against the wall turned the next page in her book. She was lost in the words, her clear grey eyes roving hungrily over the lettering on the page, oblivious to the sounds of the sea and of other children chattering playfully at the opposite end of the hall. She had moved out of the common room where the rest of the duelists were and into the hall so she could properly concentrate on her reading. There was too much noise in the room for that.

A small sea breeze fluttered in through the open door, catching on the wisps of onyx hair left free of the bun that held the longer strands. She smiled lightly at the salt smell, momentarily distracted from reading.

Suddenly a commotion of voices broke out and the rest of the passengers on the ship began filing into the hall. Conversation escalated to a distracting level and the girl looked up from her book. Everyone was leaving to crowd the deck. It seemed the time had finally come for them to disembark.

The girl remained seated, not wanting to get caught up in the middle of the crowd. A few people coming down the hall from the VIP rooms gave her odd looks, but she ignored them and returned to her book.

Not much later a gravelly voice rang out above the others on deck. "Attention all duelists: please disembark in an orderly fashion."

The noise outside began to die down. The book in the girl's hand clamped shut as she stood, revealing the full length of the long white knit sweater hanging over her baby blue shirt. She brushed off her jeans with her free hand and retrieved her backpack from the floor, slinging it over her shoulder. An excited smile lit up her face. The game was about to begin.

She followed the few remaining passengers off the ship. It seemed she was the last one to leave.

"Please proceed to Pegasus Castle," a nearby guard announced to the last wave of duelists.

The girl rolled her eyes. Of course the competition's host would name a castle after himself. She wondered vaguely if the island's name was really 'Pegasus' as well instead of its publicized name of Duelist Kingdom in honor of said named tournament. But she supposed Pegasus had a right to name the castle after himself since he was a multi-billionaire and created the game Duel Monsters, on which the competition was based.

By the time Kira started to pay attention to her surroundings she was halfway up the long flight of stairs leading to the castle upon the hill. Duelists trudged up the stairs in scattered groups to reach the arching gateway and the small pavilion beyond. Since she was at the end of the line, the girl was able to see how many duelists were actually competing. She estimated about fifty, eighty at the most.

When she reached the top of the steps Pegasus had already begun his entrance speech. She heard very little as she concentrated on regaining her breath. She silently berated herself for being so easily wearied by so short a trek. The girl recovered quickly nonetheless and her attention returned to Pegasus in time to hear something about special new rules.

"You have one full hour to prepare, both your cards and yourselves," he finished. "When the skies light up with fireworks, the duels will begin."

Many of the duelists cheered as Pegasus left the balcony. The girl sighed. "More waiting? Well, it can't be helped. Maybe there are people here who still aren't ready yet."

She examined the crowd and found a few familiar faces from some of the major Duel Monsters competitions. There were winners from the latest regional and national tournaments present but the world champion was nowhere to be seen. She had heard on the ship to the island all about how the best duelist in the world was defeated by a kid from nowhere: Yugi Muto.

She had seen glimpses of him on the boat but now it was hard to miss the famed duelist with his tall tri-colored hair and odd gold necklace. The girl thought Yugi didn't look like such an impressive opponent, standing at least a foot shorter than those around him. She wasn't willing to doubt his prowess though, knowing from experience that looks can be deceiving.

People began dispersing and the girl watched her possible opponents head off in different directions. She was debating whether or not to follow some of the crowd or stay close to the castle when another duelist made the choice for her.

"Hey bookworm! How about a duel?" A dark eyed boy approached her with a smirk, sizing up her small frame and light countenance. He saw an easy target.

"Bookworm?" She remembered the old hardback still clutched in her left hand and glanced briefly at it. She looked back up at the blonde boy. "Well, okay. I wasn't expecting to be able to duel so soon."

"It'll be your first and only duel 'cause you're going down!" The boy's smirk dropped into a frown as he looked around. He suddenly pointed off to the trees to their left. "There. We can meet at that dueling arena after the hour is up. See ya."

"Hey wait. I don't even know your name," she said to his back.

"Jesse."

The girl nodded. "I'm Kira."

Jesse left. A few duelists remained to loiter around the castle. Kira chose a wall of the pavilion to sit against and opened the book in her hand to read as she waited.

Two chapters passed before Kira's opponent returned. She noticed him at the top of a flight of side stairs leading into the foliage surrounding the castle. She followed him to the arena that rose from the ground at their approach. They stood together at the base of one of the platforms and exchanged decks to be shuffled.

Jesse grinned confidently. "You ready to lose runt? My deck can't be beat."

"Oh, should we wager all of our star chips then?" The two duelists returned their decks to their owners. Kira looked at the two occupied star shaped slots in the ring at the top of her purple glove. The eight other slots were empty, showing her status in the competition. Ten stars in the ten slots were required for entry to the finals; zero qualified the duelist for a boat ride off the island. The girl's grey eyes returned to Jesse, awaiting his answer.

"Sure," he nodded. "I have complete confidence in my deck. Eliminating you will put me that much closer to the finals."

Kira said nothing and retreated to her own platform on the other side of the arena. As soon as she stepped onto the blue square it rose a few feet off the ground to overlook the battle and give her a good view of her opponent across the way.

Kira dropped her backpack on the floor and placed her dueling deck in the appropriate square on her placement mat. This mat was different than the tabletop ones she was used to though. When a card was placed on the board a holographic image was created to appear in the area between the two duelists.

This innovation in gaming technology was what made the Duelist Kingdom tournament so sensational. Industrial Illusions, the company owned by Pegasus and sponsor of the tournament, was the only business that could afford to outfit an entire island with these state of the art dueling platforms. Kira thought it was interesting as well that Pegasus had bought the machinery from his company's biggest rival, Kaiba Corp. It seemed that, to Pegasus, throwing a good party and gaining publicity was more important than keeping the competition from getting business.

Her attention returned to the task at hand. She dropped her star chips into the tray provided. The computer powered on, giving both players 2000 life points. The life points determined who would win the duel in most cases. When one duelist looses all of his life points the game is over and the other duelist is declared the winner. There were other ways to lose at Duel Monsters, but this was the most widely used method.

Kira and Jesse both drew five cards, the size of a hand in the game.

"Ladies first," Jesse commented. Kira said nothing and removed two cards from her hand.

"I place one magic card and a monster in defense mode," she declared across the arena. One card went to each of the two five-slotted rows. The card closest to Kira, the magic card, was laid vertically while the other was horizontal, denoting the monster's status on the field. The holographic system came to life, showing the cards as glowing yellow squares.

"That ends my turn."

"I don't blame you for defending. Just watch." Jesse slapped a monster card down on his mat. "I play Armored Lizard in attack mode."

The monster generated by the computer was a metallic blue reptile with red eyes. It had 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points. Attacking an opponent's monsters was the only way to decrease the person's life points. This only applied when both monsters were in attacking positions. If a monster was defending against attacks when it was destroyed, the duelist kept his life points.

Jesse pointed across the field as he declared his move. "Armored Lizard, attack her face down card."

Because of the holographic systems the two players were able to witness the action as the Armored Lizard rushed across the field to deliver a blow to the yellow square representing Kira's monster. Kira shielded her eyes against the bright flash of light the attack caused as her Luster Dragon was revealed. Kira's Luster Dragon was sapphire blue with a set of menacing teeth. It knelt with wings enfolding its body in defense.

"What?" Jesse questioned, surprised. He had assumed that her monster would be destroyed, but the dragon was stronger than his Lizard with an attack of 1900 and defense of 1600. Since it was defending, neither monster was destroyed.

"Well, because my dragon's defense is higher than your Armored Lizard's attack it lost," Kira explained. "That means you lose life points."

Jesse growled as the computer recalculated his life points. He now had 1900. "Fine. I end my turn."

"I switch my Luster Dragon to attack mode," Kira declared after drawing a card, moving the horizontal card to a vertical position. The dragon stood to its full height and let out a proud roar. "Now I'll attack your Armored Lizard."

The dragon unleashed its attack and Jesse's lizard shattered into data bits. He lost another 400 life points, bringing his total to 1500. Kira still had her starting total of 2000.

"Your turn," Kira said.

Jesse looked at the card he had drawn and let out a short laugh of victory. "Your dragon is dead. I play Warrior Dai Grepher in attack mode." The man that appeared on the field was extremely muscular and clothed in black. His stats were 1700 attack and 1600 defense. "Then I'll use this magic card, Lightning Blade, to raise his attack by 800 points, bringing him up to 2500."

The warrior's sword suddenly crackled and sparked with lightning. "Now Dai Grepher, attack her Luster Dragon." The warrior jumped forward to slash through Kira's dragon.

"Hold on." Kira interrupted as she flipped over her magic card. "I reveal Interdimensional Matter Transporter."

An odd looking blue and green machine appeared behind the Luster Dragon and created a portal that sucked the dragon away before Dai Grepher's attack could make contact. Both the machine and the dragon disappeared from the field.

"What? Where did it go?" Jesse asked looking around for his opponent's missing monster.

"My Luster Dragon has been removed from play until the end of this turn." Kira explained.

Jesse glared. "Hmph. Your turn, then."

Another portal appeared and the Luster Dragon returned to the field as Kira drew her card. _Perfect_, she thought. _My strategy is complete._

"First, I'll switch my Luster Dragon to defense mode," Kira declared, turning the card horizontally. "Then I'll play Divine Dragon Ragnarok in attack mode."

Kira's newest dragon was long and serpentine. It sparked with electricity. Kira also placed a magic card on the field. "Now I activate Luminous Spark. It increases the attack of all light based monsters by 500 points, but lowers their defense by 400." The field beneath the monsters became a white plane.

The Divine Dragon's stats moved from 1500 and 1000 attack and defense to 2000 and 600.

"That ends my turn."

Jesse laughed, "I guess you forgot about my warrior's raised stats. He still has 500 more attack points than your weak dragon."

"Oh, you're right about that." Kira didn't seem to be too worried.

"Yup, too bad for you," Jesse said as he drew his next card. He placed it on the field. "For now I'll play Gagagigo in attack mode." This reptile was all green with an attack of 1850 and defense of 1000.

"Gagagigo, destroy the Luster Dragon." The reptile did so and the defending monster was sent to the Graveyard.

"Now Dai Grepher, attack her Divine Dragon," Jesse ordered. The warrior easily slashed through the Divine Dragon, bringing Kira's life points down to 1500.

"Guess there was nothing special about that dragon after all," Jesse smirked. "I hope you have a stronger monster than that somewhere in that weak deck of yours."

Kira responded by placing a card horizontally on the field. "I play Spirit of the Harp in defense mode." Her tan clad fairy usually had stats of 800 and 2000, but because of the Luminous Spark magic card they were changed to 1300 and 1600.

"And I'll place one magic card on the field. That ends my turn."

"Ha! I knew it. You don't have any powerful monsters." Jesse barely looked at the card he drew before declaring his attack. "Dai Grepher, destroy her Spirit of the Harp."

The warrior charged forward to deliver its attack. The Spirit was eliminated.

"Thank you," Kira said. "Now it's my turn. By removing two light monsters in my Graveyard from play I can now summon Soul of Purity and Light." Kira's fairy was ethereal with her pair of large angel wings and light, transparent figure. Her stats were 2000 attack and 1800 defense.

"I'll also equip her with the Malevolent Nuzzler magic card to raise her attack by 700. And because of the Luminous Spark field card already in play, her total attack point count is raised to 3200."

"Oh no," Jesse began to sweat.

"Oh, I'm not done yet." Kira flipped up her face down magic card. "I activate Ultimate Offering. At the cost of 500 life points I can summon another monster to the field. And I choose my Wingweaver." The computer counter dropped her life points to 1000.

Kira's monster had long purple hair and was donned in a golden dress, but the most distinctive feature about her was the six wings protruding from her back. They flexed and extended as the fairy appeared on the field. Wingweaver's raised stats were 3250 and 2000.

Kira smiled. "Oh, and to answer your statement from earlier: yes, I do have a few powerful monsters in my deck."

Jesse took a half-step backward. "T-that's impossible. Both of your monsters have over 3000 attack points!"

"That's correct. Now my fairies, destroy his monsters and take out the rest of his life points."

Both of her monsters sent an attack across the field. The arena was engulfed in light for a few moments and when it cleared Jesse's side of the field was empty and his life point counter had dropped to zero.

Kira retrieved her deck and backpack before the platform lowered her back onto the ground. She met up with Jesse midway and he shoved his star chips into her hand before walking quickly away.

Kira smiled as she placed the star chips next to her other two on the glove. "If all my duels turn out to be as easy as that one I'll be bringing the prize money home in no time."

She made her way back toward the castle to find another opponent, feeling optimistic about her ability to succeed in such a major tournament as Duelist Kingdom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_The room was small and rather quaint, with little crowding the space besides a bed, desk, and dresser. Kira moved to the desk where a few stacks of cards lay haphazardly close to a tipping heap of books and school papers. She picked up the first card on the pile closest to her and stared in wonder at the regal figure painted on its surface._

"She's beautiful," Kira commented to her companion. The teenager stepped closer to look at the item in the younger girl's hand.

"That's Wingweaver," he said. "She's one of the strongest cards in the game. You can have her if you want. I won her in a competition last year and never got around to putting her in my deck. Mine's made of spellcasters anyway, and Wingweaver is a fairy type."

Kira looked up at the slightly older boy. "Thank you, but you'd be better off giving it to someone else. It seems important."

He flipped his hand casually. "Nah. It's just a card. Take it. I would trust you with it more than most of the duelists I know." His eyes wandered to the ceiling. "But I don't suppose you play Duel Monsters, do you?"

Kira shook her head. "No. I knew a boy who liked the game, but I never knew much about it. He gave me a card too, to remember him by."

He clapped his hands together. "This is the perfect opportunity, then! I'll teach you how to play if you want. It's great fun and the basics aren't too hard to master. This way, the cards your friends have given you won't go to waste. How about it?"

Kira stared down at the angelic figure in her hand for a little while before connecting her eyes with his sea green ones.

"I would like that very much. Thank you, Touya."

Kira smiled at the Wingweaver card on the top of her deck. She moved the stack of cards to her carrying case and stood from her resting position against the wall of the pavilion. Her lips upturned as her eyes closed. "Thanks again, Touya. I could never have done this without you."

She surveyed the area. "Well, I've got to keep fighting so now I need to find a new opponent."

There were very few people left in the entrance area and most of them looked like they were more relaxed about competing. They were all trading cards or just talking. One duo was even playing a match on the ground in tabletop fashion.

Realizing she wouldn't find an opponent in the immediate area, Kira turned her attention to the other side of the pavilion where several dirt paths wound away into different parts of the island. There were no stairs. The small court spread out into a tree filled meadow.

Kira didn't like the idea of leaving the castle, what with her poor navigation skills and lack of physical prowess. Long hikes through the woods seemed like a bad idea.

However, staying would severely limit her choices. She was sure it would prove most gratifying to venture out into other parts of the island. So her decision was already made. Kira looked over her choices of directions by way of the dirt paths and randomly chose one heading nearly due west from the castle.

She admired the scenery as she trekked along, enjoying the sea breeze that filtered in every so often. Birds chirped and squirrels bounded among the treetops. She could even faintly hear some duels taking place nearby.

It wasn't long before Kira reached the edge of a large meadow. There were several dueling platforms spread over the area, with almost all of them occupied, and a few people were standing at the bottom of the arenas to watch the matches.

She approached the nearest one, where it seemed the duel was coming to a close. The boy on the blue platform, with spiky, light brown hair, was grinning cockily at his opponent, who looked shell shocked and downtrodden.

"And I think that's the rest of your life points," Spiky said. Kira walked up to some other duelist watching below and took the time to listen in on their conversation.

"Man, that guy's good."

"I know. That's his third win in a row. I wouldn't want to fight him."

"Chicken," the first duelist teased.

The second scoffed. "Whatever. Like you'd do it either."

Kira watched the platforms lower before Spiky collected his star chips. She got a sudden idea and grinned. She discreetly plucked two of her star chips out of her glove and shoved them in her pocket, leaving the original two. It was one of the rules of Touya's training to let the opponent think he has the upper hand, and she was sure this cocky player would lower his guard against someone he thought hadn't dueled yet.

"Alright," Spiky announced, turning to the small crowd. "Any takers? I'll beat you all and get into the castle by sundown!"

After a few moments of murmuring among the other duelists, Kira timidly raised her hand.

"Umm, I'll try," she said. She stepped forward. Spiky held out his hand for her to take.

"Yutoma. Nice to beat you." Kira gave him her name and took his hand.

"How many star chips will you put up?" he asked, adjusting his glove to show off the six he had.

She looked down at her own glove. "Well, I've got two. I guess that'll work."

"Sure." Yutoma shrugged. He moved back to his platform. Kira took up hers as well and the game began.

"I'll let you go first." Yutoma smirked. Kira nearly rolled her eyes at his undeserved confidence but took her turn instead.

"I place one magic card and a monster face down," she announced. It was a bit odd to have an audience, no matter how small. She was really only used to playing with Touya and a few of his friends.

"Alright! Dark Blade in attack mode," Yutoma shouted, drawing her attention. His monster was a dark knight in medieval armor. A large sword was clutched in his hands. His stats were 1800 and 1500. "Attack her face down card."

The knight did so and the field lit up to reveal Kira's Spirit of the Harp. It wasn't destroyed and Yutoma lost 200 life points, since her defense was higher than the Dark Blade's attack.

"Che! Cheap move," Yutoma complained before letting Kira start her turn. She glanced at her hand with a frown. She really didn't have anything useful and hoped the card she drew would help in some way.

"I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards." She did so and sighed in relief at the monster card. "Now I'll place one magic card and Luster Dragon in attack mode."

Kira ordered an attack on the Dark Blade and Yutoma lost another 100 life points, bringing him down to 1700. Kira hadn't lost any.

"Fine, I'll play a magic card too and Judge Man in attack mode!" Yutoma's newest monster was a large man in armor with an equally large gavel. It's stats were 2200 and 1500, stronger than Kira's dragon. As she expected, Yutoma declared an attack and she lost 300 life points.

She drew her next card and smirked at the monster. There wasn't much that could defeat that dragon.

"I'll play a magic card and summon my Red Eyes Black Dragon! Red Eyes, attack the Judge Man." Kira's large dragon moved to do so, but Yutoma flipped one of his magic cards face-up.

"Not so fast. I activate Dark Spirit of the Silent," he announced. She glowered. "It lets me stop one monster's attack. Then I can choose another monster to attack in its place. And of course I pick Spirit of the Harp."

A ghostly apparition appeared on the field and wrapped around Kira's fairy. She stood, but Kira flipped over a magic card before she could begin her attack. "Reveal Shadow Spell!"

Black chains appeared, wrapping around the Judge Man and holding him in place. His attack points were reduced by 700. He was still stronger than Spirit of the Harp, so Kira lost 700 life points when the fairy attacked.

Yutoma smirked and started his next turn. "I place a monster in defense and activate Pot of Greed."

He drew two more cards, set a magic card, and ended his turn. Kira took a moment to think as she began her turn. She didn't know what that card could be. She had something that could get rid of it, but she wasn't sure if she would need it more later. She had a bad feeling about it, though, so she decided to go with her instinct.

"I'll switch Spirit of the Harp back to defense," Kira called. "Then I'll activate Dust Tornado to destroy your magic card."

Yutoma growled. Kira smirked back, pleased to see she had made the right decision and interrupted his plans.

"Finally, I'll destroy your Judge Man. Red Eyes, attack!" Kira's dragon sent a fireball across the field, incinerating the chained Judge and bringing Yutoma's life points down by 900. That put her in the lead again, 1000 to 800.

"It's my turn," Yutoma said. He flipped over his monster card, though he still left it defending. "I reveal my Dragon Manipulator, and I'll use its effect to take control of your Red Eyes."

Kira's Red Eyes let out a roar and moved to the opposite side of the field. Yutoma grinned.

"Red Eyes," he commanded. "Destroy Spirit of the Harp."

It did so, but since she was defending Kira didn't lose any life points. Yutoma ended his turn by setting a magic card.

Kira set a monster in defense and, since her dragon was back under her control, destroyed the Dragon Manipulator. Yutoma used his next turn to set a monster as well. Kira frowned at her hand. This duel was going nowhere fast, but she didn't have any of her powerful combos to fall back on this time. She drew her next card, figuring she would have to wait until something better came up.

"I play Divine Dragon Ragnarok in defense mode." Kira set the card on the field. "Then I'll have my Red Eyes attack your face down card. Red Eyes, destroy it!"

A small masked creature was revealed as the blast from her dragon hit, though it was soon disintegrated. Yutoma laughed.

"Ha! You activated Hane-Hane's effect. Your Red Eyes goes back to your hand." Yutoma reached for his deck as Kira's card was removed. "My turn."

He grinned at the card he drew and immediately slammed it down. "Battle Ox, baby! Destroy that dragon!"

The Ox stormed across the field and slashed through Kira's Divine Dragon with its large axe. She lost no life points, but she was without monsters on the field. Kira drew her next card and smiled at the fairy. She could have put her Red Eyes back on the field, but with the combo she had planned she could wipe Yutoma out in the next turn.

"I'll remove two of my light monsters in the graveyard from play and summon my Soul of Purity and Light!" Kira placed the card on the mat, and added another one beneath it. "And I'll add the Luminous Spark magic card to increase her attack by 500."

"No!" Yutoma slammed his hands against his station, knowing the game was lost. Kira's fairy attacked at her order, drowning the field in bright light.

Kira smiled as the life counter dropped to zero. That was another duel won. She met with Yutoma at the bottom of the arena. He handed over the two star chips.

"Good game," he said with a friendly smile. "I'm sure I'll see you again in the finals."

She nodded. "As long as you get there too."

He laughed and waved as she retreated from the well populated meadow. Kira stepped onto another dirt path between the trees. If things kept going the way they were she could get to the castle by the end of the day.

There was a burly looking kid on the road ahead. Kira was prepared to walk past him but he called her to a stop.

"Wanna duel?" he asked, grinning. The expression looked a bit darker than it should have. She didn't trust it.

"No thanks," Kira replied, moving to continue on her way. He quickly stepped in front of her. She heard a small rustle of the bushes and another boy with the same stature appeared behind her.

"Come on. I insist."

Kira had a feeling she wouldn't be allowed to say no again.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you Death101 and Cster for reviewing! You guys are awesome :)

Chapter 3

"You're rather frail looking."

The comment came from the red eyed teenager leaning casually against a rocky seat created by the cliff they sat under. Kira said nothing and glanced at the small group of boys. Two flanked her, guarding her from escape, and the rest sat in various loafing positions beneath the shade of the rocks.

She had somehow gotten herself into a mess of trouble.

"Is your voice frail too? Or are you just too scared to speak?" the red eyed one spoke again. He seemed to be the leader and was the most gothic looking of the bunch. He was dressed all in black with chains criss-crossing the back of his pants and wrapped around his neck and wrists. His hair was also black and spiked in all directions.

"What is it that you want from me?" Kira finally said.

He smirked and looked her up as he got to his feet, moving to stand in front of her. "A duel of course. That is what we're here for, isn't it? But we like to raise the stakes a little. It's more fun that way."

"No thank you."

Red eyes laughed. "No, no. It doesn't work that way. See, you don't really have a choice anymore."

The cronies behind Kira closed in to prove his point. He continued. "Here's how we play: you can wager as many star chips as you'd like but, depending on how many you put up against how many you have, we add another offer to the duel such as money, rare cards, or your allegiance to us. So choose your wager."

"I once heard that referred to as extortion," Kira said.

"The way we play, a name doesn't matter."

"How do I know you'll let me go?"

He shrugged. "We don't need to keep you around once you've lost, we just want rare cards."

Kira stood in silence as she tried to think. Running was out of the question. She wouldn't get very far before they caught up with her, especially if her own body gave out on her first._ I wish you were here, Touya. It would really help right now._ She bit her lip, sighed, and looked back at her opponent.

"Four star chips." _It's either do or die with this duel,_ she thought, _so I might as well make it complete. Now if I win I can go straight to the finals._

"Ah, but you have six. Here I was hoping to make a clean break. That's why the boys call me Breaker, after all. Oh well, maybe I'll have a chance again later. You are so frail looking, so easily breakable."

Kira's shoulders stiffened. "Well, you-you've said that before. And what are the other requisites for this duel?"

"Hmm, I suppose I can wager my two rarest cards. As for you, when you lose, we get to keep your dueling deck."

"Oh, that all seems rather one sided," Kira pointed out.

Breaker smirked again. "Life isn't fair, princess."

His smirk spread into a dark grin. "Enough talk. Let's get started, shall we?"

Breaker walked away and Kira followed. The other boys stayed seated. They obviously weren't concerned and were probably willing to watch from their own vantage point.

An arena unfolded from the ground before them out of hearing range of the other teenagers and both duelists mounted their respective platforms. They drew their five cards and the duel began.

"I'll go first," Breaker said. "I summon Vampire Lord, attack mode." The vampire wore a dark purple cape and had light blue hair. His stats were 2000 attack and 1500 defense. Breaker nodded for Kira to take her turn.

Kira set down a magic card. "I play Graceful Charity. It allows me to draw three cards, but I have to discard two from my hand."

"That's a very rare card," Breaker commented as Kira drew three cards from her deck. "I will be sure to add it to my deck when I defeat you."

Kira shook off the shivers that ran through her and placed a monster on the field. "I play a magic card and summon Levia-Dragon Daedalus to the field." The sea serpent was blue with a white underbelly and red fins running down its spine. It hissed and snapped its teeth at Breaker's vampire. It had 2600 attack and 1500 defense points.

"Daedalus, attack his Vampire Lord," Kira ordered. The dragon wrapped itself around the Vampire Lord and squeezed until he shattered into data bits. Breaker lost 600 life points.

Breaker grinned darkly. "My turn now. And because of Vampire Lord's special ability, he's returned to the field at the beginning of my turn."

A coffin rose up from the ground and the Vampire Lord stepped back out onto the field. Kira bit her lip.

"I'll switch him to defense mode and end my turn for now."

Kira said nothing, trying not to give herself away. The guy really was getting under her skin. He was too slick, for lack of a better word. There was just something off about the way he was approaching the duel, like he was waiting for something.

She shook her head to rid herself of unneeded worry and drew her card. "I pass."

Breaker grinned. "Is my Vampire Lord's immortality a problem for you?"

Kira made no response.

"Heh, fine. I play another monster in defense mode." Breaker set his card. "Your move."

"One magic card," Kira said shortly as she placed her card on the field.

"Let's add some excitement to this boring game, shall we?" Breaker played his card. "Dragged Down into the Grave. We now show each other our hands and pick one to be discarded to the Graveyard. Then we draw a new card. So, let's see what Little Kira has."

Kira chose to destroy Breaker's Dark Snake Syndrome magic card and he removed her Flute of Summoning Dragon. They both drew another card.

Breaker placed his on the field. "I summon Despair from the Dark." The monster was a large dark shadow. Its stats were 2800 and 3000.

"Put that dragon in its place," Breaker ordered his monster. The shadow stretched across the field to completely engulf Kira's Daedalus. She lost 200 life points.

Kira fingered her trap card on the field, but decided that she might need it more later on. She drew her next card. _Lord of Dragons? That would have been useful when I had my Flute of Summoning Dragon. This isn't looking good._

"I play a monster in defense mode," Kira declared aloud.

Breaker began his turn. "Despair from the Dark, take down her pathetic card." Kira's Lord of Dragons was sent to the Graveyard. "I also activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards."

He did so and broke into laughter at what he saw.

"This duel will end in five turns," he announced as he played his magic card. A large Ouija board with the enflamed letter 'F' above it appeared behind his monsters. "I place Destiny Board on the field. I'll let you find out how it works."

"Oh, but I already know," Kira said. "You place another Spirit Message on the field for every turn that I end until you have all five letters that spell 'Final'. Then the game ends."

"Very good. Then you should be smart enough to give up now."

"No, you never know what could happen between now and then," Kira responded as she began her turn. "I play Red Eyes Black Dragon in attack mode." The black dragon's attack was 2400.

"Red Eyes, destroy his face down card." The dragon sent a blast of fire from its mouth to the yellow square on the field. The revealed mummy was destroyed.

Breaker smirked. "You activated my Poison Mummy's flip effect. You automatically lose 500 life points."

Kira grit her teeth as the counter dropped her life points to 1300, 100 behind Breaker.

"And since it's the end of your turn, I can play a Spirit Message card." Breaker added the 'I' card next to the Destiny Board's 'F'.

"I'll also play another magic card before I destroy your dragon. You shouldn't have left him defenseless. Destroy him, Despair from the Dark."

Kira flipped over her magic card. "Reveal Shadow Spell."

"Trap Jammer," Breaker responded easily, also flipping his trap card face up.

Kira stared as she lost another dragon and 400 more life points. She now had 900.

_He definitely knows what he's doing,_ she thought. _But I can't let him get under my skin. I have to stay focused on winning, if only to get out of this place._

"I place a monster in defense mode and end my turn," she said.

Breaker grinned again. "That means I play another Spirit Message. Two more to go now." He held up two fingers for emphasis. "I won't even bother taking a turn."

"I play one magic card," Kira said as she took her turn.

"You seem calm for someone who's about to lose. I play the 'A' Spirit Message and pass my turn."

_Looks can be deceiving! _Kira thought. _There's only one card in my deck that can stop his Destiny Board and if I'm going to stay in this, I've got to draw it._ She placed her hand on her deck. _. . . But, that card is probably at the bottom of my deck. There's no way I can get it now._

Kira grit her teeth together and clenched her eyes shut. _I'm going to lose. I will lose to this weirdo and his cronies and my father will never get the money he needs. There goes another broken promise._ She sighed. _I knew I wasn't good enough for this tournament._

"Have you finally given up?" Breaker taunted. "You could wait one more turn and then you wouldn't have to, but you'll still lose."

Kira said nothing and placed a hand on the necklace hanging over her heart beneath her shirt.

_Sorry mom, but I can't say I didn't try,_ she thought dejectedly.

Kira opened her eyes and stared at her deck. _Oh, but Touya always told me that if I had something to fight for, I would never lose no matter how bad the situation seemed. Well, the situation is not looking good and I have an entire family to fight for. I guess that makes this the moment of truth. There's no point in quitting before the end, so I have to draw. I hope I don't prove you wrong, Touya._

She drew from the top of her deck, expecting nothing useful.

Kira smiled at the card. The odds of her actually drawing it were almost nonexistent, and here it was. She placed it on her mat.

"I play Mystical Space Typhoon. This lets me destroy one spell or trap card on the field, and I choose your Destiny Board. It seems this game isn't over yet."

Breaker growled as he deposited his magic cards into the Graveyard.

Kira's smile stayed in place._ I have another chance and I won't waste it!_

"It's my turn," he snarled as he played his card. "Heavy Storm. It destroys your magic cards as well. So your face down card is unprotected. Destroy it, Despair from the Dark!"

Kira lost her Divine Dragon Ragnarok. She began her next turn.

"I activate Card Destruction. We both discard our hands and draw a new one with the same number of cards."

Kira drew her five cards and smiled. _Good, now I have Wingweaver in my hand. But I need to find a way to take out his life points. If I destroy his powerful monster now, he'll just defend until he finds a way to overpower my Wingweaver. There has to be a way to make this work._

She looked over all of the cards in her hand and an idea came to her. Kira smiled again. _This will catch him off guard._

Kira announced her next move. "I play the magic card Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy any monster card on the field, and I choose your Despair from the Dark!" She put her Monster Reborn card in the discard pile.

Kira placed a monster card on the field. "I'll end my turn by playing Dreamsprite in defense mode."

Dreamsprite was her weakest monster with 300 attack and 200 defense. She was deep blue in color with fiery red hair and wings.

Breaker laughed as he placed his Despair from the Dark in the Graveyard. "You must have pulled a bad hand if that is the best monster you can summon. Let me show you how this works." He moved his horizontal card on the field into a vertical position. "First, I switch my Vampire Lord to attack mode. Then I summon Soul Absorbing Bone Tower in defense mode."

The shadowed tower had an attack of 400 and defense of 1500.

"Vampire Lord, attack her Dreamsprite." The fairy was destroyed. "I've taken down all of your strongest monsters, and now that my Soul Absorbing Bone Tower is on the field you only have a few more turns before its special effect forces you to forfeit."

"You're mistaken," Kira responded. "You have done exactly what I was hoping you would."

Kira placed three cards on the field as Breaker fumed in silence. "I summon Wingweaver to the field and I also equip her with the Cestus of Dagla and Malevolent Nuzzler to raise her attack to 3950. Your Vampire Lord doesn't stand a chance. Destroy him, Wingweaver!"

The fairy's scythes easily cut through the vampire. Breaker's life point counter dropped to zero.

The duel ended and the machines powered down. Kira gathered her things as the platform prepared to lower. She smiled and sighed in relief, glad not to lose the only means of rescuing her family that she had.

When Kira reached ground level, though, her mind changed on whether that fact was true. The four other members of Breaker's gang stood waiting for her.

"Sorry chickadee," one with disheveled red hair said. "But our Breaker don't lose. Now fork over the cards."

Kira stayed on the platform and looked between the two duos on each side. "I won this match fairly, but I can't say I'm surprised." She finally decided to try the running tactic she had discounted earlier. Perhaps the element of surprise would give her the edge she needed.

Kira placed a hand on the metal bar behind her and vaulted over it to the unprotected space of ground.

The balls of her feet dug into the dirt as she prepared to bolt from her rising crouched position. At the same moment a hand grasped the back of her sweater, pulling her backward as her forward momentum turned traitor. Apparently, they were faster than she thought.

"No need to rush. The fun's not over yet," said the largest, bald-headed member of the gang. He pulled Kira back against his chest and wrapped her neck in the crook of his arm.

Breaker sauntered forward, having come around from his side of the dueling arena. He glared menacingly at Kira as he removed her deck from the carrying case at her hip.

"It seems the cards in your deck aren't as small and frail as you are." He fanned the cards out and grinned as he pulled a few from the group. He laughed. "But, all that means is that I'll make more money selling your cards than I thought, once I keep a few of the best ones for myself that is."

"Let her go!" A young voice interceded as a small boy in a purple hat and striped shirt jumped onto Breaker's back, wrapping his arms and legs around the bully. The kid pulled at the chain around Breaker's neck and twisted it tight. A gurgling choke of a sound wrenched itself from the goth's throat.

"Let her go," he repeated from behind a light blue bandana. "Or this guy looses more than the duel." Breaker's face began to turn the color of the kid's hat.

Kira felt the arm around her tighten but Breaker gave his friends a signal that made the bald one drop her and the green eyed blonde beside Breaker transfer her deck back into her hands.

Breaker suddenly crashed to the ground, having fainted from lack of oxygen. The kid on his back jumped up and grabbed Kira's hand, pulling her along as he ran toward the cover of trees. They began to follow a winding dirt path as they heard the shouts and heavy footfalls of the members of the gang.

Kira's chest began to pound painfully as she ran. She was beginning to have difficulty breathing. Her run slowed, even as the boy in front of her pulled her to move faster. He stopped suddenly and looked to their left.

"Quick, in here," he ordered. They both crawled in under the large shrub. Kira shoved her face into her arms to quiet her heavy, gasping breaths. She could feel her heart pumping loudly in her ears.

The three boys following them passed by on the path soon after. Kira's rescuer turned his attention to her.

"They're gone now. Are you ok?"

Kira nodded, unable to speak. The kid waited patiently beside her as she regained her bearings over the next few minutes.

"Thank you," Kira finally said after they got back on the path. "You've done more for me than you could know. If there's any way I can repay you, please tell me."

The kid nodded and Kira suddenly found that his dark blue eyes looked familiar.

"There is something you can do," he said as he pulled down the bandana and removed his hat, letting his spiked jet black hair fall on his back. "You can help me save my brother."

Kira stared in shock as she recognized his face, though it had been six years since she last saw it.

"M-mokuba!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Mokuba!"

The boy grinned at her shock. "Yup!"

"But how . . . when . . . what?" Kira could hardly form a coherent sentence. "What's going on?"

Mokuba looked to the ground and shook his head, "It's a long story. I escaped from Pegasus Castle so I could save Seto. I thought I would have to do it myself, but then I saw you dueling." He looked up and laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "Strange place for us to meet, huh?"

Kira couldn't find anything to say. The shock still hadn't worn off. Six years prior she had convinced herself that she would never see the two brothers again. Yet here one was, still the same as she remembered despite the change in age.

Kira bit her lip and steeled her emotions. Memories of their last encounter resurfaced, reminding her of why they hadn't spoken in six years. Kira wanted to leave and forget all about this meeting but now she owed Mokuba for helping her, and she already promised to pay him back.

_I've already agreed to stay so the sooner we do this, the sooner we get this over with, _she thought. _Then I can go save my family and I won't have to see Mokuba or Seto ever again._

She finally looked to Mokuba. "We should leave this area before one of those guys finds us."

Mokuba nodded and led the way into the underbrush to find a different path. As they walked he began to explain his situation.

"You remember how we were adopted, right?"

Kira nodded. "Yes, that chess player lost to Seto. I never liked him."

"Me neither. He was even worse after we left the orphanage. Anyway, he owned this big company and a few years back Seto took it over and changed it to a gaming distributor. Pegasus' company is our biggest rival and now that Seto's gone, Pegasus is trying to take it over. Our board of directors agreed to hand the company over as long as Pegasus made sure Seto was gone for good. The other requirement was that Pegasus or someone working under him had to defeat Yugi Muto in a duel to restore Kaiba Corp's good name."

They came out onto a path and Mokuba chose to go right.

"So you and Seto own Kaiba Corp?" Kira tried to clear some of the confusion.

"Uh-huh."

"You said Seto is gone? Where did he go, and what for? And what does Yugi have to do with this?"

Mokuba looked questioningly at her. "Don't you know? Seto was the world champ at duel monsters, until Yugi beat him. Seto was so upset after the duel that he left. Even I don't know where he is. Since he's disappeared Pegasus has moved right in. That's why I'm here on the island. Pegasus' men kidnapped me because of some corporate law that says a Kaiba family member has to control the company."

"Guess I'm just really far out of the loop." Kira shrugged.

Mokuba shook his head. "How do you play in a major duel monsters tournament and not know who the game's best players are? You might end up having to duel one of them."

"That's a long story too," Kira answered. "This is my first professional tournament, and I'm only participating out of necessity. My neighbor taught me how to play a few years back. I really only dueled against him and some of his close friends. But recently my adoptive father has gotten into some legal trouble. He's a doctor and a patient accused him of malpractice to try and win some money off of him. He's been fighting a legal battle for almost a year and his license has been revoked so he can't even work anymore. He's having a hard time paying the legal fees and our money supply is running low."

"Then my neighbor was invited to this tournament. And since he didn't want to come, he passed the invitation over to me so I could try to win the prize money for my father. So, really, I'm not even supposed to be here."

Kira smiled sadly. "It was a fluke of fate."

Mokuba grinned. "A lucky one for me. But back to business; I was on my way to save Kaiba Corp when I found you, and I need your help 'cause I think you'd be better at it than me."

"I'll do whatever I can, but don't expect too much good to come of it," Kira said.

"Well maybe. My idea was that, since the agreement our executives made with Pegasus makes it so that Pegasus has to beat Yugi in a duel, if someone else beats him first and disqualifies him from the tournament then all bets would be off. I was on my way to get a deck so I could duel him myself, but since you already have one and know how to use it more than I would I was thinking you could duel Yugi instead."

Kira stopped walking.

"I don't think I could do that, Mokuba," she said. "I'm not even in the same league as duelists like your brother and Yugi. I would definitely lose. Is there nothing else we could do?"

Mokuba shook his head, eyes pleading. "Not while we're stuck on this island. Please, Kira. I need your help. I don't even play duel monsters that often. But I watched you dueling earlier and I know you can win. Please."

Kira bit her lip. There was no way she could agree to such an impossible proposal. She had her own goals to attend to and losing wouldn't help her get any closer to achieving them.

Mokuba was watching for her decision. She sighed, realizing that she had dug herself into a hole that she wouldn't be able to get out of.

"Well Mokuba, I made you a promise and I intend to keep it. If dueling Yugi is the only way, then duel him I must."

Mokuba grinned. "Alright!"

"But first," Kira sat down on the side of the path and opened her backpack. "I'll have to modify my deck. How does Yugi duel? What kind of strategy does he use?"

Mokuba sat beside her as she took out her deck and spare cards. "I don't really know. He kind of just comes out from behind when you least expect it and pulls off some amazing move that wins the duel."

"So he uses a sneak attack approach. I use that one fairly often myself." She began switching out a few cards. "A more direct strategy is needed to counter it, then. I'll have to hit him hard and hopefully take him out in the first few turns. Oh, I'll have to raise my defenses as well, to keep from being caught off guard."

A soft silence surrounded them as Kira worked through her new strategies. She glanced briefly at Mokuba. The boy smiled widely at her in return. Kira wasn't sure what to think of the whole situation. She knew she should have just left Mokuba after what he and his brother had done to her, after the betrayal they had handed to her. She did make a promise to help him, but it would have been very easy to excuse that. She could have just walked away; she could have left the past where it was supposed to be. She could have abandoned Mokuba, let him know what that felt like. Kira could have done that but was that really what she should have done? Had she made the right choice?

An exclamation from Mokuba broke into her reverie.

"Wow, I'm almost glad I got kidnapped! If I hadn't been on the island we would have completely missed each other." He paused for a second before throwing his arms around her.

Kira jumped slightly and dropped some of her cards.

"I really missed you," Mokuba continued. "And Seto has too. We thought you were gone for good."

He pulled away and looked up into her wide grey eyes. "Promise me we won't get separated again. I want us to stay best friends this time."

Kira's heart melted. Mokuba's plea was so sincere she knew he couldn't possibly harbor any ill will for her. And she was suddenly reminded of all of the fun she had with him when they were younger. Maybe she had made the right decision. Maybe they could start over . . . .

"Alright, Moki," she said, finally using his old nickname. "I promise to stay by you and be your friend for as long as you want."

Mokuba grinned widely and stooped to pick up her dropped cards. He passed them over to Kira. "Can I help?"

"Nope. I'm all done," Kira said, putting her deck back where it belonged. She stood and her companion followed suit. Mokuba took the lead again as they started back on the trail.

"Do you know where to find Yugi?" Kira asked.

"Not really, but the island isn't that big. He has to be somewhere close by."

"Hopefully," she added.

They ended up taking two more breaks along their walk. A wave of fatigue would suddenly wash over Kira and she would need to sit down almost immediately. Mokuba was very accommodating and had no trouble waiting for her to regain her strength.

The second stop they made was at a dueling arena, number 146. Kira leaned against the wall of the arena with closed eyes and heavy breathing.

"You still have a lot of trouble with that, huh?" Mokuba said softly as he stood before her.

"Yes. Sometimes I think it might be getting worse, but now it's only because I've been doing a lot." Kira smiled sardonically.

Voices suddenly filtered to them from somewhere down the path. Mokuba tried to see who it was and caught a glimpse of something that glinted in the sunlight.

"Kira," he said. "I don't think we have to look for Yugi anymore. He's just come to us."

Kira nodded and opened her eyes, moving to stand. She left the arena to wait a few feet from it for her opponent. There was no sense in going too far.

"Will you be ok?" Mokuba asked worriedly as he stood beside her.

"I'll have to be."

The group of four approached and a gust of wind blew through the clearing. Kira suddenly felt rather dramatic as her long white coat billowed in the breeze in the same moment that Yugi and his friends noticed her.

"Who's that?" A boy in a brown trench coat asked.

"Hey, isn't that Kaiba's little brother Mokuba?" That came from the only girl of the group.

"Yeah, wonder what he's doing here," the blonde said.

They stopped with Yugi in the lead a few feet in front of Kira.

"What are you doing here Mokuba?" Yugi asked. "And who's your friend?"

Mokuba glared at his brother's rival. "I'm here to make you pay, Yugi, for what you did to my big brother and my friend Kira is going to help. She's one of the best duelists around and won't have any trouble crushing you now that you don't have Exodia."

Kira looked sideways at Mokuba for his last comment. She thought he was exaggerating a bit too much but addressed Yugi instead. "That's right, Yugi. I challenge you to a duel."

Yugi said nothing and only looked between her and Mokuba. Kira began to think that he would decline. She could feel her hands shaking at her sides and hoped he wouldn't notice. She forgot why she had decided to challenge him in the first place. Every second that passed made the idea seem less and less prudent. Kira silently began wishing that he would refuse, that he would say she was too weak to bother with and continue on his way.

"Don't do it, Yug," his blonde friend warned. "There's something fishy about this girl. I mean, who in their right mind would want to help that jerk Kaiba?"

Kira said nothing. She couldn't let them know that she agreed with the blonde. She would rather lose her dueling deck than have to deal with Seto ever again. She had been upset with Mokuba but the animosity she felt for Seto was ten times that. Seto had promised more and left her with less. She was only helping him because it would help Mokuba too, and it would certainly make the younger boy happy. Kira had always marveled at the bond the brothers shared; how Mokuba was the only one who could be completely happy with Seto's austere personality and always give the elder brother a reason to smile in the process.

"It's ok, Joey." Yugi smiled at his friend before turning a serious face on Kira. "I accept your challenge."

"Good." She nodded, secretly disappointed, and headed toward one of the platforms, trying to keep herself steady. She still felt the need to sit down but there were more important things that were waiting to be done first.

Yugi mounted his own platform, the blue one, after convincing his friends that he knew what he was doing.

"How many star chips will you wager?" Yugi asked. Kira furrowed her brow as she caught a difference in his voice. There was a new authority and confidence in his stance and speech that sent a thrill of fear through the girl. She knew with a sudden certainty that she would lose. Kira had wanted to help Mokuba to show him that she meant what she said about their restored friendship but the knowledge of Yugi's experience and talent threw what little confidence she had out the window.

"Five. I'm t-taking you out of this competition for-for good." Annoyed at the weakness in her voice, Kira threw five of her six chips into the tray. She regretted not being able to get the star chips she won in her last duel but the circumstances had been against her. Kira wanted to at least try to win for Mokuba. Even if she lost she still had one star chip left, enough to stay on the island.

Yugi agreed and also placed his star chips in his tray. He drew his cards as the machine powered up, giving them 2000 life points.

Kira leaned heavily against the edge of her placement mat. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she gripped the table for a moment until it passed enough for her to draw her five cards.

"You first," she called to Yugi as she tried to blink her eyes back into focus.

"Alright," he shouted across the field. "I'll begin with the Celtic Guardian in defense mode." Yugi slapped his first card down. The warrior appeared, kneeling defensively. It had an attack of 1400 and defense of 1200.

Kira gasped in a few deep breaths, trying to concentrate on the match. It took all of her mental strength to keep from grasping at her aching chest. There was no need to arouse concern over her physical condition, especially among her enemies. It would be the perfect reason for them to take advantage of her and her weakness. Kira's vision finally cleared again and she glanced over her hand.

"One magic card. I'll also summon my Mirage Dragon." Kira stated shortly. Her dragon appeared on the field, transparent and snake-like in appearance. Its stats were 1600 attack and 600 defense points.

"Mirage Dragon, destroy the Celtic Guardian!" Yugi's first monster fell.

Yugi paused as he took his next turn. He turned his gaze to Kira. "Tell me, why are you fighting for Kaiba? It wouldn't help him to have someone else beat me in a duel."

Kira shook her head at her opponent. She was almost feeling back to normal. "That's where you're wrong. Pegasus is trying to take over Kaiba Corp and he needs to defeat you in order to do it. But if Mokuba and I can disqualify you first Pegasus won't be able to carry out his plans."

"Pegasus wants Kaiba Corp?" Yugi repeated, surprised. Kira nodded as Mokuba took up the explanation, giving Yugi and his friends the same information he had shared with her.

After a few minutes the duel continued. Yugi set a magic card and played his Beaver Warrior in defense mode.

Kira picked up two extra cards as she played her Pot of Greed magic card. She then ordered her dragon to attack.

"You walked right into my trap," Yugi announced with a small victorious smirk. He flipped his magic card face up. "My Spellbinding Circle magic card will stop your dragon in its tracks."

Kira looked unfazed and the dragon continued its attack, destroying the warrior. Yugi seemed a bit more than surprised.

"What? My trap had no effect," he murmured. His friends on the sidelines also made protests at the turn of events.

"It seems even the experts don't know everything," Kira noted. "That's Mirage Dragon's special ability: no trap cards can be activated while he's on the field."

"That ends my turn," she finished. Kira's voice was strengthening with each move. Maybe she could win, maybe she could keep catching Yugi off-guard. Then again, maybe he was luring her into a false sense of security so he could bring out a powerful monster when she least expected it. Or maybe he was just testing the waters, analyzing her strategies and using the first few turns to come up with one of his own. In any case, Kira knew to stay alert. Only time would tell the outcome of the duel.

Yugi took his turn.

"I play the Mystical Elf in defense mode." The Mystical Elf was too well fortified for her Mirage Dragon with a defense of 2000.

Kira drew her next card. She immediately placed it on the field. "I summon the Lord of Dragons in defense mode." The well-armored warrior remained kneeling, its attack and defense at 1200 and 1100. Kira also flipped over the magic card she had left on the field. "And I'll use him to activate my Flute of Summoning Dragon, which allows me to move two dragons from my hand to the field."

Kira removed the two dragons from her hand, placing her Luster Dragon and Hyozanryu on the placement mat. The Hyozanryu was the stronger of the two with an attack of 2100 and defense of 2800. It was a pure white dragon with a long horn jutting from its forehead.

"Now Hyozanryu, attack the Mystical Elf," Kira announced to end her turn. This was the third monster of Yugi's that she had taken out, even though he still hadn't lost any life points.

"I was expecting a bit more from the person who beat Seto," Kira told Yugi honestly, taking in his frustrated look. "I hope you have something planned."

"Don't listen to her Yug!" Joey interrupted. "You're still in this. I know you can win."

"Yeah, show her what it means to have faith in the Heart of the Cards," Tea added.

Yugi nodded to his friends, turning back to look at his deck with renewed determination. Kira took the moment to look to her own supporter. Mokuba grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. She smiled softly back at him.

Kira returned her attention in time to see Yugi's eyes light up at the card he had drawn. He began to speak to her, saying something about having a heart, but Kira lost focus again as blackness overtook her vision and dimmed the sounds entering her ears. She gripped the table in front of her again, feeling the world sway treacherously. She had been standing for too long, the exertion adding to her already weakened state. Not to mention she hadn't eaten since early that morning.

She clenched her eyes shut tightly and when she opened them again light was tunneling through, her area of sight growing with each passing second. She began to hear more clearly as well and just caught Yugi's voice as he made to finish his turn.

"Now, my Knight, destroy the Mirage Dragon," he commanded. The mounted warrior rushed at Kira's first dragon, spearing through it and making the first deduction of life points. Kira's counter dropped to 1100.

She finally caught on that Yugi had brought Gaia the Fierce Knight to the field. He had announced it while she was trying not to faint.

"Kira!" Mokuba called to her. Kira continued to blink the darkness from the edges of her perception and turned to her friend in time to see him look to Yugi.

"Yugi, you have to stop the duel! Kira's sick, she has-"

"No Mokuba."

Mokuba faced Kira again, shock and worry apparent on his face.

"That's not important," she continued, face hardening. There was no way she was going to give her enemy that advantage over her. "I'm just fine and I'll prove it."

"But Kira . . ." Mokuba mumbled partly to himself. This wasn't what he wanted to happen but he knew that Kira had a stubborn streak almost as bad as his brother's. There would be no way for him to convince her to back down now that she had started.

"Mokuba, is she going to be okay?" Tea asked, also showing concern.

"Yeah, she doesn't look so hot," Joey added.

Mokuba stared at the ground for a moment before looking back up at his friend on the platform. " . . . I don't know."

"Yugi's not going to stop her either." The others turned back to the duel at Tristan's observation. Yugi stood calmly on his side of the field, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for Kira's next move. His brow was furrowed, but his friends on the ground couldn't tell if it was from concern or concentration.

Kira drew her next card and pulled a different one from her hand. "I'm always going to be one step ahead of you, Yugi. I know how you play and I'm not going to give you a chance to pull one of your surprise attacks."

Kira was mad. She was sore at her illness for rearing its ugly head at the worst possible moment and her anger flowed out into the duel. Her nervousness was almost completely forgotten, lost beneath a swell of pride and frustration.

She slapped a magic card onto her placement mat. "I activate Shield and Sword. This card makes all the monsters on the field switch their attack points with their defense points. And I made sure to have one monster with a defense higher than his attack."

"Hyozanryu, attack Gaia the Fierce Knight," Kira commanded. Yugi lost 700 life points in one fell swoop and he didn't look happy about it. He was still leading though, 1300 against 1100.

Yugi's ire quickly disappeared as he began his turn, eying the card he drew almost victoriously. Kira noted that he didn't have a very good poker face.

"I'll begin by placing the Koumori Dragon on the field, on the defense," Yugi announced. His dragon was dark blue with an attack of 1500 and defense of 1200. "I also set two magic cards."

Kira let her confusion show. With that expression on his face she had thought he would pull out some amazing combo attack, but he had done almost nothing.

_I bet those magic cards are part of a plan he's got going. Too bad I don't have anything to counter it,_ she though, drawing her next card. She was pleased with the result. _Wingweaver's just what I need. But I wouldn't dare play her alone. I have to wait for a card that will boost her power._

Kira eyed her opponent across the field. _Then again, do I really have time to wait?_

She passed her turn.

Yugi began his. "I summon the Dark Magician." His royal purple and gold clothed spellcaster had 2500 attack points and 2100 defense.

"Now I activate Brain Control." He flipped over one of his magic cards. "This card allows me to take control of one of your monsters for an entire turn. I'll use it to seize control of the Lord of Dragons." Kira's spellcaster rose, switching to attack position.

Kira glowered. She couldn't really tell what he was doing. Lord of Dragons was her weakest monster on the field. Perhaps he knew about the Lord's special ability. Really, the Lord of Dragons was the only monster Yugi could take control of since his ability negated spell and trap cards targeting dragon-type monsters.

"Lord of Dragons, attack the Dark Magician," Yugi commanded Kira's monster.

"What?" A simultaneous response from everyone present followed his statement. Yugi made no reply aside from a small smirk as Kira's monster moved to destroy the Dark Magician.

Yugi flipped his remaining magic card face up. "Since an opposing monster has begun an attack I can activate my trap card: Mirror Force."

_So he did have a trap card after all,_ Kira thought. _No matter, I still have an ace up my sleeve._

The Mirror Force activated, splaying bullets of explosive energy across Kira's side of the field. Her monsters were destroyed but she lost no life points.

Yugi's friends began a round of cheering at his success but Kira cut them off early. "It's my turn. I told you, Yugi: I'm always going to be one step ahead of you."

Kira would have liked to save her strongest card to be certain that she would win, but another wave of fatigue was beginning to wash over her and she knew she would have to finish the duel as soon as possible. She slapped her next card down on the field.

"I summon Wingweaver in attack mode." Kira took a moment to gloat at her opponent's shock. Dueling always brought out her more competitive side. She pointed across the field to the Dark Magician.

"Wingweaver, attack!"

She heard Yugi's counter drop even as her vision faded again. His friends were dismayed but Yugi confidently began his next turn.

"Swords of Revealing Light," he called across the arena.

Kira couldn't see the glowing swords light up the field. She tried desperately to blink away the darkness, to regain control. It overpowered her this time. Kira stopped blinking, not sure if her eyes were open or closed, and fell into the silent haven of oblivion.


End file.
